Sharon Osbourne slams 'gimmick' The Voice

Sharon Osbourne thinks 'The Voice' is filled with backing singers who don't have what it takes to be a pop star

Sharon Osbourne thinks 'The Voice' is a gimmick with a low success rate because the contestants are all "toads."

The 'X Factor' judge has admitted she'd jump at the chance to mentor on the singing competition, which sees the panel base their decision on voice alone, if Simon Cowell hadn't employed her for the rival show last year, but thinks the winners fail to do well once the series wraps because they're just "backing singers" lacking the full package of a pop star.

Speaking to the Radio Times magazine, she said: "'The Voice' is a gimmick with the twisty chairs.

"I love the judges and if I was asked to do it and didn't have 'The X Factor', course I'd do it. But you cannot judge talent on voice alone because if Mick Jagger was up there nobody would turn around. They have all these toads up there, and I'm sorry, half of them are backing singers. That's why no stars have come from the show."

And the 64-year-old music manager isn't the only one who thinks 'The Voice' is lagging behind 'The X Factor' in its success rate, as Louis Walsh likes the panel - which features Sir Tom Jones - but believes the format is all wrong.

She said: "The panel on 'The Voice UK' are good - I'm a big fan of Tom Jones, but 'The X Factor' is a much better show."

And it looks like Simon agrees as he has promised the programme will continue for at least another six years.

Asked if he thought 'The X Factor' would make its 20th anniversary in 2023, he said: "Yes, I do think it'll last a little bit longer than I thought. If you'd asked me years ago how many more years I could do, I would have said: 'If we can get to five more years then we've done well.' Then you get to five years and it becomes 10.

"What I have noticed over the last two years is that I'm seeing younger and younger kids turn up to the show. That's always the fear that you don't stay relevant."